As your primary source for all hoverboard-related news, it’s our duty—nay, our privilege—to bring you news of this open-source, crowdfunded hoverboard project. With taglines like “Probably impossible—but certainly worth a try!” you can be assured that this is the finest hoverboard-related crowdfunding project that you could donate your hard-earned money to.

The goal of the project is to create a basic platform of hoverboard technology that other companies could build on to create actual working hoverboards. And they’re only seeking the very reasonable sum of $1 million; if you want to be among the first to get your own hoverboard, you’ll be ponying up to the tune of $10,000.

We at Doombot are not your financial advisors, but we can tell you this: There is no better way to invest your money than in the future of the hoverboard.

Except perhaps gold. Or new socks. (Seriously, yours are starting to look at bit threadbare.)

Mattel has announced that it will be rereleasing hoverboards in time for 2015, the “future” year in which Back to the Future II took place. The new hoverboard design does not actually hover, however, but “glides” as a concession to parents’ concerns about safety following the “dangerous” design of the original hoverboard.

In our continued charge of giving you the most up to date news on the availability of Hoverboards we thought it important to share with you this video of a working Hoverboard created by French artist Nils Guadagnin. The device uses an electromagnetic system (in the board and the pedestal it is on) combined with a laser system forÂ stabilization.

As you may know, we here at Doombot occasionally like to check our traffic stats to see what kinds of search terms and referrers are sending people to Doombot. And when we do this, we are especially mindful of those who find their way here in search of information on hoverboards, a topic so important it has earned its own category here. Well, I just thought now would be a good time to check in and let you know how hoverboards figure in our traffic to date.

In the last month, Doombot has been reached via 28 hoverboard-related queries among over 480 visits (approximately 5.8% of visits). This is a slight increase over our lifetime average (since Google Analytics started tracking our traffic), which has recorded over 13,000 visits, with 362 (approximately 2.8%) in search of something related to hoverboards.

The most popular among the hoverboard search queries leading visitors to Doombot are simple permutations of the word “hoverboard” in the singular, plural, and with and without a space or the definite article (47 visits). Runners up include queries asking “how to make” or “how to build” a hoverboard (17 visits), and hoverboard “plans” or “design notes” (11 visits). Dozens of different queries were made in the hopes of confirming that hoverboards are “real” or were actually once manufactured by Mattel, including one visitor wondering “where can I get a hoverboard from Mattel,” and another asking “why Mattel recalled the hoverboard.” Several additional specific queries seeking further information on building or otherwise acquiring hoverboards ask “how much hoverboards cost,” “what stores have hoverboards,” “tools to make a hoverboard with magnets,” and “where is the hoverboards build a bear workshop.”

This represents the most recent information available on the status of people seeking hoverboard-related information from Doombot. We hope that this information has been as enlightening for you as it has been for us.

Dan’s recent post on hoverboards, combined with Tony’s recent addition of an entire blog category on cake, has made me realize something: If Doombot is ever to be a destination on the web for hoverboard enthusiasts (as our keyword referrals and 14-page Google position indicate may be our destiny), we need an entire category on hoverboards. So I made that, just now.

Now, on a tangential note, I’d like to tell you about the grassroots campaign to get Nike to mass produce the McFly 2015, also known as the sneakers Michael J. Fox wears in Back to the Future II.

At Online Fandom, Dr. Nancy Baym notes that her earlier post on the shoe was one of her most read posts to date, suggesting that the popularity of hoverboards among internet surfers may well extend to this futuristic shoe. (Perhaps I should retitle this category, “The Year 2015”..?) More recently, she offers an update to comment on how Nike made a shoe sort of like the one in the movie, but not enough like it to appease fans.

Nevertheless, I find this news promising. Sooner or later Nike will move on from these “Hyperdunk” sneakers and get the self-lacing McFly model correct; then, we might see self-drying jackets; and finally, after this, functional hoverboards. Cross your fingers, everybody (for seven years or so, just to be safe).

In our continuing self-appointed duty to bring you all the news that is fit to electronically print about our favorite *cryptotechnological* means of conveyance, I just wanted to point out to you that one lucky person will be able to take home [the actual hoverboard used in *Back to the Future II*](http://gizmodo.com/5026747/hover-boards-holy-grails-and-tie-fighters-fill-hollywood-prop-auctions-geek-memorabilia-motherlode). Along with a handful of other *rare artifacts* such as [*the Holy Fucking Grail*](http://gizmodo.com/photogallery/propauction/1002841456), it’s being auctioned off on July 31st. Granted, you’ll need to pony up $30,000—but come on, I mean, a hoverboard *pays for itself*, amirite?

There’s kind of a cruel bent to this auction. I mean, selling of [C-3PO’s feet](http://gizmodo.com/photogallery/propauction/1002841808)? And what about [Geordi’s visor](http://gizmodo.com/photogallery/propauction/1002841709); how’s the poor guy going to *see*? Why don’t you auction off Stephen Hawking’s *wheelchair* while you’re at it?

Unfortunately, I suspect I’ll be missing the event, as I’ll be busy helping [some *jackass*](http://doombot.com/author/jason/) unload his moving van. But if anybody is looking for something to commemorate a certain blog’s upcoming [fifth anniversary](http://doombot.com/2003/) (hiatuses not included), well, I’m just *sayin’*.

Researchers at Cornell University—my alma mater, no less!—have apparently managed to pair superconductors with magnets in order to make hovering vehicles theoretically possible. Of course, science is not without its catches: in order for this to work, the temperature needs to be under -300°F. If you’re wondering, the coldest temperature ever measured on Earth was apparently -129°F, so seriously, people: it’s time we start doing something about this global warming shit. If we keep going the way we are now, we’ll never have hover vehicles. Then what will you tell your children? “Sorry Bobby, but because I couldn’t go without driving my Hummer to the corner store, you can’t have a hoverboard for Christmas. Because they don’t exist.” I hope you enjoy having your children grow up hating you with every fiber of their being.

Anyway, if I can earmark my donation for hoverboard research, I might actually consider giving money to my college for once. Let’s see: I’ve got about two dollars in change in my pocket…and some lint. I expect return on my investment. You’ve got seven years.

I tried installing Google Analytics on Doombot’s front page so we could get a sense of who’s actually reading the site. I’ll be honest: I probably failed. Our hosting company provides software to keep track of page requests, but it doesn’t really track unique visitors, and the page requests are really dominated by spam bots. I will say, however, that it is totally awesome to see which search terms bring people here:

Listing the top 20 queries by the number of requests, sorted by the number of requests.

Dan probably didn’t realize that this post would be such an online sensation, but apparently the netizens need their hoverboards. I’m especially proud that we came up for “what makes a good game” and “sukia tercer sexo review” (without those dirty, dirty Amazon results), and I hope our writings on these matters have been helpful for you intrepid searchers.

Also, I have absolutely no idea who was searching for Gears of War and Water Polo Sharks at the same time, but I must admit that I’m impressed that we were able to accommodate you.